TONIGHT'S DINNER EVENT... U-S SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL... HE WAS BUSY AT EVENTS IN THE AREA THROUGH THE DAY. PART OF HIS FOCUS -- JUST AS IT WAS EARLIER THIS WEEK IN D. C. -- WAS ON THE AREA'S HEROIN PROBLEM. WLWT NEWS 5'S JOHN LONDON IS LIVE IN THE NEWSROOM WITH WHAT HE INTENDS TO DO ... SHINE A SPOTLIGHT. MCCONNELL SAYS HE WAS SURPRISED BY HOW MANY PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM. Senator Mitch McConnell calls Northern Kentucky the epicenter of the heroin epidemic in his home state. At Transitions where virtually all of the four-hundred people here have a heroin problem, he promises to push for more funding to get more treatment. (Mitch McConnell - Senate Minority Leader) ("...and I can't think of anything on the domestic front that's more significant than trying to be helpful to programs like this because we're going to ruin future generations...") (applause) At the Covington Business Council a short time later, McConnell delivered a litany of familiar lines attacking the Obama administration ... But, got some different questions such as why students can't refinance overwhelming student loans. (Patrick Raverty - Florence) ("It's keeping them in debt forever. It's preventing them from buying new homes, buying new cars, starting businesses... ") No one inquired about the still-unsolved funding formula for constructing a new Brent Spence bridge. One quipped it must be the off-season... (Pat Frew - Covington) ("I think you're going to begin to see a lot of momentum and discussions both at the local and the federal level...") Which is what McConnell also wants for the heroin mess. He speaks about raising more awareness, which is easier than raising more money. But wants that, too. (Senator McConnell) ("There's no easy answer to it. But, I think raising the profile, making sure more people are aware of it doesn't do any harm.") At Transitions, you find there is a good deal of faith in the thought of doing no harm. The waiting list here is long. Senator McConnell told his colleagues in Congress this week heroin in Northern Kentucky is "spreading like a cancer". IT IS GENERALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE DEMAND FOR TREATMENT IS OUTPACING THE CAPACITY FOR TREATMENT. SOMETHING NONE OF THE POLITICAL LEADERS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE POLITICAL DIVIDE SEEM TO HAVE A READY SOLUTION FOR AT THE MOMENT. LIVE DOWNTOWN, JOHN LONDON, WLWT NEWS FIVE. THE HAMILTON COUNTY CORONER SAYS

Thousands of California acres are ablaze as firefighters battle at least 21 wildfires throughout the state, but while many of those fires are small or mostly contained, the wind and heat that are spreading the Rocky Fire in Northern California -- and...